Fruit-picker&#39;s ladder and conveyer



June 12, 1923.

N. D. SERGEANT FRUIT FICKER"'S LADDER AND CONVEIYER Filed june 12, 1922 INVENTOR.

mN A A TTORNEY.

Fatented June 12, 1923.

UNHTEE PATENT NEWTON D. SERGEANT, OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNQR OF ONE-THIRD T0 J. V. LINDQUIST, OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON.

FRUIT-PICKERS LADDER AND CONVEYER.

Application filedJ'une 12, 1922. Serial No. 567,595.

To allrwho m it may concern:

Be it known that I, Nn-wron D. SERGEANT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bellingham, in the county of Whatcom and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Fruit-Pickers Ladder and Conveyor, of which the following is a specification. I m

My invention relates to improvements in fruit pickers ladders and conveyers, and one object of my improvements is to provide a ladder suited for pickers of tree fruits on which is mounted a conveyer adapted to carry the fruit from the pickers hands among the branches without injury to a receiving box near the ground; another object of my improvements is to pro vide means whereby the receiving boxes are depressed automatically as the fruit accumulates therein; and another object of my improvements is to provide means within reach of the picker whereby the rate of movements of the conveyer may be under control.

I attain, these objects with the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a ladder with my conveyer installed thereon, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the upper sprocket wheel and bearings in section on a medial vertical plane and drawn on a larger scale, and Fig. 4: is a side elevation of Fig. 3.

Similar characters refer to similar parts throughout. Certain parts are broken away to show others hidden thereby.

More particularly: The front legs or rails of my ladder are shown at 5, the top step at 6, the other through steps at 7, 7, side steps at 8, 8, and headers for said side steps at 9, 9. The rear legs of the ladder are shown at 10, 10 and are hinged to the rails at 11, 11. Tie bars 12, 12 are bolted to rails 5 and legs 10, and each may swing about one of its bolts when the bolt in its other end is removed. A bar 13 is fastened to the back of steps 7 with its upper end projecting above the ladder. On the upper end of bar 13 is fastened bearing bracket 14: having hearings wi l, ale. On the lower end of bar 13 is fastened bracket 15 having bearings (115, (115. Upper sprocket wheel 16 is mounted for revolution on axle 20, which is mounted for limited reciprocation in bearings ale. Said axle is prevented from turning in said bearings by pin 21 engaged inslot 22 in said axle. Be-

tween one of the hubs, of sprocket 16 and its adjacent bearing is collar 23 fastened on axle 20. The other, end of axle 20 from said set collar extends beyond its bearing and has a threaded body on which is engaged thumb nut 24. By turning said thumb nut the hub of sprocket 16 is caused to bear more or less against its bearing through intervening collar- 23 andthus cause more or less frictional retardation of sprocket 16 as desired. Sprocket wheel 17 is mounted for revolution on a shaft in lower bearings a15 in chain relation with upper sprocket wheel 16. @n said sprockets is mounted chain 18, and fastened on said chain are spaced buckets 19. The two rails 25, 25 of a box platform are hinged to legs Mat 26, 26. 'Said platform is supported on tension springs 27 27 which may be engaged in either one of three pairs of hooks 28, 29 in tie bars 12 and platform rails 25. A fruit receiving box 30 is Placed on platform 25 beneath lower sprocket 17. A rail a5 is fastened on the front edge of steps 7 behind chain 18 to prevent said chain from dragging over said step edges.

In operation: The ladder is erected beneath or beside a fruit tree and the picker stands on the most convenient step for access to the fruit. As he picks the fruit he places it in the nearest bucket 19. When a few of the buckets on the front of the chain are filled with fruit their weight will cause the conveyer to move downward in front and empty buckets will thus be brought within the reach of the picker. These also are filled as he picksfruit, while very soon the conveyer is moving regularly and the filled buckets come in order to pass the lower sprocket where they are inverted and deposit their loadof fruit in box 30. If the speed of the conveyer is too rapid it may be checked by tightening thumb nut 24:, and if not rapid enough it can be accelerated by loosening said thumb nut.

As illustrated in full lines the position of empty box 30 is close beneath the lowest reach of buckets 19 as they turn beneath sprocket 17. As fruit accumulates in said box the weight thereof overcomes the tension of springs 27 and the box platform is depressed-tovassume a lower position, as, for instance, its dotted-line position at 25, while the box is at 30.

, Inthis.mannerwhen the box is empty its bottom can be so" close to the unloading buckets that the drop distance will not I bruise the fruit, and as the box fills it settles fast enough to avoid collision between the deposited fruit and the passing buckets. The position of springs 27 is changed to cause the filling boxes to move downward'at a proper rate to avoid bruising the fruit by contact with; said buckets v and yet not too fast to bruise saidfalling fruit by too long a drop. A'full box of fruit can be withdrawn from the front end of the platform while it is followed by an empty box from the rear,

1 thus changing receptacles" while the conveyer veyer mounted longitudinally on said ladderv for operation thereon, a plurality of buckets adapted to carry fruit fastened at spaced intervals to said conveyers chain, a recepweight of said delivered'fruit,

tacle beneath the delivery end of said conveyer, and means whereby said receptacleis automatically depressed by the weight of; i

the, fruit delivered from said buckets int said receptacle.

2. In combinatiomafruit-pickers ladder adapted to stand ,erect, a gravity bucket conveyer mounted longitudinally'on said ladder I adapted to operate thereon, a fruit receptacle beneath the delivery end of said conveyer adapted to receive fruit dumped from c said, buckets, and a spring supported plat form supporting said receptacle adapted to be depressed away from said conveyer by-the *In combination, a 'fruit-pickers ladder adapted to stand erect, a bar fastened longitudinally, to said ladder projecting beyond the top of the same, a sprocket wheel mounted for revolution on each end of'said bar in belting relation, a sprocket chainmounted onsaid sprocket wheels, buckets adapted to carry fruit fastened to said chain at spaced intervals, friction means applied to one of said sprocket wheels adapted to control the rate of revolution of the same, a.

fruit receptacle beneath the lower-end'of said conveyer, a hinged platform adapted to support said receptacle,"and springs fastened to said ladder and said platform adapted to permit :the depression of said platform away from the lower end of said increases in wei ht.

NE TON D. 'SERGEANT'.

conveyer as the contents of saidreceptacle 

